Say bonjour to up-and-coming French indie-pop duo Singtank. Even though the band of Alexandre and Josephine de la Baume is still in early stages, they are gaining attention for being wicked cool by association. The sister, actress/singer Josephine, is in fact Mark Ronson‘s wife, and has been touted by Kate Moss and Daze & Confused magazine as the next big thing. Their first single “The Party” is pretty standard as quirky indie-pop goes, with the brother on lead vocals and Josephine providing harmonies. It’s a fun, catchy ditty that reminds me of another boy/girl duo, The Dø. The video is visually arresting in an Alice in Wonderland meets M.C. Escher way. It’ll be interesting to hear more from them, apparently they worked with Bjork’s former producer Nellee Hooper. I wonder if they worked with Mark too, or maybe that’s too obvious?
We finally made it through the week and our Halloween festivities are upon us. I have some great content for you to indulge in this morning that includes the RE:GENERATION tracks, an Escape From Wonderland preview & set times, AraabMuzik’s tour with EDM support, a 12th Planet interview, a trailer of a Soulwax video project, and a video of Afrojack playing classical music. Be entertained after the jump…
RE:GENERATION Tracks
The RE:GENERATION documentary is directed by Amir Bar Lev (The Pat Tillman Story, My Child Can Paint That) and commissioned by Hyundai Veloster. Five chosen producer/DJs of today embark on a musical odyssey to create tracks inspired by one of five traditional musical genres: Jazz, R&B, Country, Classical and Rock. The pairings include Skrillex with The Doors, DJ Premier with the Berklee Symphony Orchestra, Mark Ronson with Erykah Badu, The Crystal Method with Martha Reeves, and Pretty Lights with Leann Rimes and Ralph Stanley.
Pretty Lights’ “Wayfaring Stranger” featuring LeAnn Rimes and Dr. Ralph Stanley
Skrillex’s new Rock remix for RE:GENERATION featuring Members of The Doors
DJ Premier’s new Classical remix for RE:GENERATION featuring Nas and the Berklee Symphony Orchestra
Mark Ronson’s new Jazz remix for RE:GENERATION featuring Erykah Badu, Trombone Shorty, Mos Def, Zigaboo Modeliste, and Members of The Dap Kings
The Crystal Method’s new R&B remix for RE:GENERATION featuring Martha Reeves and the Funk Brothers
Escape From Wonderland Sneak Preview + Set Times
Insomniac always has excellent production and their first Halloween festival is no exception. This sneak preview video showcases the transformation of the NOS Event Center for a frightful night of electronic music and Halloween debauchery. The set times were finally announced yesterday, so be sure to make your schedule prior to the event to make your night flow smoothly.
AraabMuzik Announces Tour w/ an EDM Supporting lineup
Coming off a wave of CMJ buzz, AraabMuzik will tour North America in support of June’s BNM’d Electronic Dream, in October and November. The dates include shows with SBTRKT, MSTRKRFT, and other folks who are not as fond of capital letters/don’t hate vowels as much.
Also, as Fools Gold points out, there is also now a new version of AraabMuzik’s previously posted remix of the Big Pink‘s “Stay Gold”, featuring added rhymes from Danny Brown. Check out the dates and track, plus a promo video for the tour, below.
AraabMuzik:
10-27 Atlanta, GA – King Plow *
10-28 Asheville, NC – Moogfest 2011
10-29 Chicago, IL – Congress Theater ^%$
10-30 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer #
10-31 Manhattan, NY – Bowery Ballroom #
11-01 Providence, RI – The Met *
11-02 Boston, MA – Royale #
11-03 Toronto, Ontario – The Hoxton #
11-04 Buffalo, NY – Sound Lab *
11-05 St. Louis, MO – 2720 Cherokee *
11-06 Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge
11-09 Phoenix, AZ – Bar Smith
11-10 Tucson, AZ – Club Congress
11-11 Los Angeles, CA – Skybar
11-13 Hollywood, CA, – Drai’s Hollywood @ The W
11-16 Portland, OR – Bossanova
11-17 Seattle, WA, – Crocodile
11-18 San Francisco, CA – 103 Harriet
11-19 Vancouver, British Columbia – Electric Owl
* with Melo-X
^ with MSTRKRFT
% with Wolfgang Gartner
$ with Laidback Luke
# with SBTRKT
Electronica superstar Skrillex owes a certain debt to John Dadzie.
In this week’s issue of the New Times, I explored the “poster boy of dubstep” and his meteoric rise to fame over the past year. And while Skrillex’s phenomenal reinvention as an EDM maestro came about through his own tireless efforts, the bespectacled artist was helped along the way by Dadzie, who’s better know by his nom de guerre 12th Planet.
He’s been kicking around the world of electronic music for more than a decade, starting out as drum ‘n’ bass selecta and later becoming one of the influential pioneers of dubstep in America.
Dadzie’s coming to the Marquee Theater in Tempe this weekend as a part of Skrillex’s massive Mothership Tour and Up on the Sun got a chance to speak with him via telephone.
You were one of the earliest adopters of dubstep in the U.S., correct? Yeah, totally. There were those guys that came before me, like Joe Nice and Dave Q over in New York and Baltimore. Those guys were already like established in the scene, but I think I got to play a lot of the markets that dubstep was never in. Going to like Boise, Oklahoma, and Little Rock. I think I was one of the first people to go to those places and play dubstep like four five years ago.
When was the first time you’ve played Phoenix? I think my first gig in Phoenix under the name 12th Planet was at this place with a gay bar on the bottom and an upstairs lounge on the second floor.
You mean Homme Lounge with cats like Ultrablack? Yeah. That was in like 2007. That was before they even called themselves Ultrablack. I knew Sluggo [Nick Suddarth] and Adroit [Bryan Marek] from doing drum ‘n’ bass stuff before. It was setup by their friend Cruz, who was definitely one of the first person to start booking dubstep stuff out there. And then Frank Mendez started doing some dubstep shows on this patio of this place he worked at, and from there, it helped lead to where it is now.
What was your first reaction to dubstep? It reminded me a lot of drum ‘n’ bass. Before I did dubstep I was producing and touring as a drum ‘n’ bass artist. When I went to England, I always noticed there was this second room with some weird music, and there were guys like Slaughter Mob and Skream and Zed Bias making it. I didn’t think it was gonna sound like it does today. It was like a fresh take. I was getting over drum ‘n’ bass at the time because it didn’t really evolve. There was this certain point, around like 2006 or 2007 that nothing really sounded different. It was like the same records were being made over and over and over. No one was really pushing the envelope forward.
When did you become a dubstep convert? After the Dubstep Warz mix that Mary Anne Hobbs did with like Mala, Skream, Benga, Hatcha and all these names that are pivotal to what dubstep sounds like now was all on one mix. Then it all started to make sense. It really hooked me and I started working on the music. I met up with my partner Drew Best [of L.A.'s influential SMOG night] and he was starting to throw dubstep shows. He was gonna do his first show and he asked me if I wanted to play, but I had to go on tour in Germany. So I recommended guys like Nick Argon and Matty G, and the rest is history.
Dubstep has been constantly evolving since its early days in both the U.S. and U.K.? Once it got popular around the world, everyone’s had their own take on it. A lot of it has to do with producers getting over making drum ‘n’ bass and took their experience into dubstep, which caused everyone to step their game up. It wasn’t just a minimal sound anymore, it was a maximum effort. To make a dubstep song now you have to spend some time on the craft. A lot new techniques have been learned since then.
This trailer directed by Saam Farahmand was inspired to create a unique interpretation of the ethos behind the project. The result is a breathtaking film that perfectly encapsulates the audio visual obsession of Radio Soulwax.
It’s finally Friday and things are looking up with great weather and the Tiesto, Diplo, Dada Life, & Porter Robinson show that we will be attending tomorrow. Today’s headlines include a must-hear story about a documentary film, RE:GENERATION, the new Justice EP, and Mark Ronson. Check out a video, some articles, and a little inspiration after the jump…
Hyundai Veloster Presents: RE:GENERATION
“I like to say this is the first new Doors track of the 21st century,” Ray Manzarek tells Rolling Stone of a new song he’s recorded with Robby Krieger and John Densmore, as well as popular DJ/producer Skrillex (Sonny Moore). The recording session and song are part of a documentary film, RE:GENERATION, that recruited five popular DJs/producers to work with artists from five separate genres and had them record new music. A glimpse of the results are featured in the world premiere of the trailer (below).
The project, co-produced by the Grammys and directed by Amir Bar Lev (The Pat Tillman Story, My Child Can Paint That), brought in DJ Premier to produce a classical track with Nas and the Berklee School of Music Orchestra; Pretty Lights, who did a country song with Leann Rimes and Ralph Stanley; the Crystal Method, who headed to Detroit to spend two days recording a R&B tune with Martha Reeves; and Mark Ronson, who teamed with Erykah Badu, members of the Dap Kings and Trombone Shorty for a jazz cut in New Orleans. The film should premiere early in 2012 and will be a big part of Grammy Week next year, with the artists involved doing “Remix Labs,” as well an event at the Grammy Museum and screening that week. (via Rolling Stone)
I’m very interested to see how those tracks will turn out. Be sure to click the Hyundai ads here on GDD™ to see more footage of the recording sessions and other background information to get the inside scoop!
Justice’s Audio, Video, Disco
Justice’s long-awaited sophomore album, Audio, Video, Disco, arrives October 24th via Ed Banger Records. Listen to what it sounds like as a condensed, 4-minute medley, and see the full tracklist below. Justice was a big influence on my electronic music tastes and I hope they can bring us a quality follow-up to Cross. We’ve definitely been waiting long enough…
Mark Ronson lays down new track for London 2012 Olympics
After two solo records and an album with Amy Winehouse, Mark Ronson faces what may be his greatest challenge yet: an anthem for London 2012. The singer and producer has been tapped to create a theme for next year’s Olympic Games, which will be deployed on thousands of Coca-Cola adverts. “You have one shot, one song,” he said yesterday. “It has to be great.”
Ronson is reportedly collaborating with Katy B on this new song, which samples the sounds of athletes from around the world. From the thunks of tennis balls to the thwoks of arrows, all will be diced, spliced and layered on to the commercial soundtrack. Ronson has been travelling the globe, taping microphones to athletes’ legs, arms and chests, trying to make music from all the sweat and exertion.
The finished recording will purportedly be the theme for all of Coke’s London 2012 adverts, to be unveiled in March and subsequently aired thousands of times worldwide. The last time Coca-Cola did something similar – borrowing K’naan’s song Wavin’ Flag as the company’s 2010 Fifa World Cup theme – that song became a global hit, reaching No. 2 in the UK. (via The Guardian)
In honor of Steve Jobs
Last but not least, I wanted to share a bit of wisdom with you in honor of Steve Jobs. RIP.
Here’s to the Crazy Ones.
The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.
They’re not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can quote them, disagree with them,
disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing that you can’t do, is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They invent. They imagine. They heal.
They explore. They create. They inspire.
They push the human race forward.
Maybe they have to be crazy.
How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art?
Or, sit in silence and hear a song that hasn’t been written?
Or, gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?
We make tools for these kinds of people.
While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.
Because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world,
are the ones who do.
Been a bit AWOL lately, mostly because at least three days a week I’m out of town for work where there isn’t access to the internet or really consistent electricity or running water. Internet access is the least of my worries! In a couple weeks my schedule will shift more towards being in town and of course that means much more posts from me. Anyways, here’s the post of seemingly the month, I hope you like it. First off is the Perseus remix of Mark RonsonRecord Collection. It’s a great take on the original, I love the new beat the remix gives the song which really just brings the track more genuinely into retro. Second is the Christian Strobe remix of LipsEverything to me. It’s a bit slower, but I’m really liking the track. And lastly, the Viceroy and Alkamyme remix of MadonnaLike A Prayer. I just had to post it…
ANR is truly Miami's finest. They're like a buddy cop duo whose lethal weapon is their interminable arsenal of experimental pop hooks, and we're honored to welcome them to the force on their next single out later this month. Take Exhibit A-side: "It's Around You". The radio filter intro foreshadows the immortal feeling you get when the synths surges drop nearly a minute in and the track engulfs you in a shimmering galaxy of anthemic choral shouts and pop majesty. Each humming pulse is like lightning in a bottle until drum layers and vocal layers are added and the chorus ultimately crashes into beautiful oblivion. It's strangely uplifting despite the minor chords and elegiac harmonies, perhaps thanks to the soft xylophone drops and a masterfully orchestrated brass section. As the moody trombones are counterbalanced by the kind of adulatory trumpets Mark Ronson would be proud of, ANR are guilty of squashing your conscience and unleashing your id.
And if that wasn't enough, we give you the Exhibit AA-side on the flip: "Blood on Blood", mixed by none other than the inimitable Ben Allen, fresh out of the studio with Reptar and Walk The Moon. A seemingly harmless piano progression lulls you into a false sense of security and maintains its composure until the chorus just loses it altogether with groaning electronic switches and a massive vocal melody, a manic force to be reckoned with. Then there's that classical piano break in the bridge that takes you completely by surprise, but it serves as a meticulously planned stopgap that even bloodhounds couldn't sniff out. As soon as it picks up where it left off, the beat is back with an eye-for-an-eye vengeance. It's all very cinematic and would make for an incredible epilogue to their brilliant "Big Problem" video (easily one of the year's best). ANR have absolutely killed it on our next release and if that makes us accomplices, then so be it. We're not ones to talk a big game (note: we are), but if you let it into your heart we promise this will be one of your favorite singles of 2011. Preorder is available now from the Neon Gold Shop, and you'll be able to experience in all its glory for yourself when it drops August 29th.
